Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

10 reviews

florecita_lectora's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Kidnapping, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Trafficking

Moderate: Grief and Abandonment

kappafrog's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

How eerie reading this in between seeing headlines about book bans in Florida. This was a compelling dystopian novel. I agree with other reviewers that the second half struggled at times compared to the first half.

The conceit of Margaret narrating her whole life to Bird didn't always work when she was going into intimate details which were great for the reader but made less sense as dialogue with her son. I was also disappointed in the lack of information about the aftermath of Margaret's plan. We got a few flashforward glimpses but no information on the political fallout.

The writing was really beautiful. I liked seeing the world through Bird's eyes, a child's perspective in a novel aimed at adults. I enjoyed the use of folktales, etymology, and gardening through out. There were many horrifying bits in the book. I can tell it will stay with me for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Blood, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cursing, and Deportation

Minor: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Medical content, Rape, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Islamophobia, and Slavery

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Trafficking, and Xenophobia

heatherjchin's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Trafficking and Kidnapping

Minor: Pregnancy, Blood, Gore, Animal death, and Bullying

erica_lannan's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia

Moderate: Trafficking, Abandonment, and Hate crime

jbosio's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This was a difficult read since there are many parallels to our current struggles, but Ng does a beautiful job of capturing the struggle a lot of us feel in wanting to do the right thing but being paralyzed by fear. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Hate crime, Xenophobia, and Trafficking

vedpears's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I think this may be my favorite book I read all year.
This should be considered an instant classic and to me is on par with 1984 and Animal Farm. Cautionary tales warning us all of the potential consequences if politics and media, and thus culture, continues on a certain trajectory. 
It is incredible how many parts of Ng's book became reality while she was writing it. So many moments in this book have clear parallels in reality now, unfortunately. I hope we can turn American culture around and stop accepting the blind hate being paraded as patriotism. 

I do have a favorite quote from this book - ""...unity required a common enemy. One box in which to collect all their anger. One strawman to wear the hats of everything they feared." This has been a worry of mine for a long time. Growing up here, it seemed really obvious to me that Americans need an enemy outside of us to focus on in order to come together and see one another as neighbors, or else we turn on each other. That is how our nation was born, so I suppose it makes sense that it is really hard for us to break away from that and learn healthier relationship skills, as a nation. 

I feel this should be required reading. 
Celeste Ng has solidified herself as my favorite modern day author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Xenophobia, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Racism, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Stalking, Bullying, Classism, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Confinement, Gun violence, and Sexual assault

graff_fuller's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My initial thoughts about this book is sadness, fear, frustration and ANGER. This is a work of fiction, but I could easily see that this could be a future that is inflicted upon us. I do NOT want this to happen. Hear me, this will NOT happen.

Just like my disbelief in seeing what was happening on the Capitol on January 6th...I see this book in the same way. This is here for us to read...to make SURE that this is not the future that we want. This book IS fiction, and shall stay fiction. That, in itself is a sadness.

The idea that any race, gender, faith or creed could get the upper hand...hence making every other...bend the knee and be less than, especially in this wonderful country is anathema to me (and my family).

I don't want to speak any specifics, for this book does an amazing job in revealing the story...but there were a number of times that I wanted to hurl the book at the wall. Not because I was angry at the author, but that I was angry at the world that Celeste Ng had place our characters. These character that were hurting. Tears were shed for them. How could we (as a society) allow the encroachment of evil...to get THIS (the world at this time) far? BUT, I only look back a year ago...to see our Capitol and what happened on January 6th to see...this fiction, really isn't that far from a mad reality. This, to me, is horrific. This is the horror that makes me restless.

Also, the love of libraires...withing this story put a smile on my face. We who love the libraries in our world, would flourish in her world.

Marie (my wife) is currently reading this book. She knows how it effected me...and she knows how sensitive that I am about injustices...and she TOO wanted to see how the author was able to make my blood boil.

I've read a number of her books in the past, but I think that this one might be her best...though the others have been amazing, too.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Trafficking, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Racism, Outing, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs

internationalreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, War, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Classism, Death of parent, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Trafficking

laurenkimoto's review

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Dear Ms. Ng,

Why did you have to emotionally destroy me? 

Regards,

A distraught reader 


Only complaint is the lack of quotation marks but in this book I can understand stylistically why it was done

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Classism, Cultural appropriation, Antisemitism, Bullying, Gaslighting, Murder, Cursing, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Trafficking, War, Blood, Confinement, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, and Gun violence